The “Conference on the Democratic Transformation of the Republic in Its Second Century,” held in Istanbul, continued with various sessions. Speaking during the conference’s third session, İmralı Secretariat member Veysi Aktaş delivered a presentation titled “Democratic Integration and the Construction of Common Life in the Resolution of the Kurdish Question.”

 

Aktaş expressed his hope that the discussions carried out during the conference would contribute to Turkey’s democratization and emphasized the importance of strengthening the idea of a democratic republic.

 

Aktaş stated that the “Peace and Democratic Society Process,” which gained momentum from late 2024 onward, could become the key to concrete transformations. He said the process had acquired a new dimension through the initiatives of various political actors and the messages of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

 

Emphasizing that historical transformations begin with courageous steps, Aktaş noted that the political calls made in October 2024 and the appeal made public on February 27, 2025, represented significant turning points in the new period.

 

Aktaş stated that Öcalan’s call for disarmament and organizational dissolution was a historic step that opened the way for democratic politics. The subsequent ceasefire and disarmament-related measures demonstrated a genuine commitment to the process, he added.

 

Referring to the most recent assessments made in February 2026, Aktaş said that the concept of moving “from negative peace to positive peace” had come to the forefront and that, within this framework, the concept of democratic integration had gained central importance.

 

Stating that democratic integration means integration on the basis of equality rather than separatism, Aktaş said, “It is the meeting of a democratic society with a democratic republic. It proposes a third path between assimilation and separatism.”

 

Aktaş emphasized that democratic integration is based on mutual recognition, equal citizenship, democratic negotiation, voluntarism, local democracy, and constitutional guarantees. The goal, he said, is to build a shared democratic life while preserving differences.

 

Aktaş pointed out that three fundamental legal arrangements are necessary to implement this perspective. He identified these as the “Democratic Society Law,” which would guarantee democratic consensus and pluralism; the “Free Citizenship Law,” based on equal citizenship; and the “Expanded Local Democracy Law,” aimed at strengthening local administrations.

 

Aktaş emphasized that democratic integration does not mean one identity dissolving into another but represents a model of equal partnership and coexistence.

 

“It is like a river meeting the sea; the river does not lose its identity, nor does the sea diminish,” Aktaş said, adding that what Turkey needs is a new social contract in which differences are seen as a source of richness rather than a threat.

 

Aktaş also noted that peace does not mean forgetting the past. He said that while the suffering experienced in the past should not be denied, the determining factor for society’s future should be the will to live together. Aktaş stated that the fundamental objective of democratic integration is to establish a democratic political order in which all citizens feel equal, free, and secure.

 

He said that if the process succeeds, Turkey will achieve significant gains in democratization, social peace, and economic development. Aktaş concluded his remarks by quoting Abdullah Öcalan as saying: “Democratic integration is at least as important as the founding